Summer's End and Beginning
by psycho-cha
Summary: "Will I see you again after summer's end?" A story about Elizaveta and Gilbert, two childhood friends having fun, growing up, and falling in love.


My desk was the one in the second row from the front of the classroom, behind an empty desk, near the sink with the dripping faucet. I tried to turn off the faucet before, and the other kids in my class also made their attempts to do so, but no matter how hard the faucet handle was turned, the water droplets kept coming out. Most of the kids gave up. I gave up many times too, but I would sometimes go back there to exert a little more strength into trying to close it because I had always hoped that I would be the one to successfully stop it from dripping. It's sometimes annoying hearing the wet plopping noise but you get use to it.

It's not like I wanted to sit near the noisy faucet. I didn't have a choice. My teacher Miss. Grace made a seating chart in the beginning of the year and I got assigned to the desk next to the sink. It's not all bad though because there was a big window above the sink so when I got bored, which happens mostly during math lessons, I get to look out through the window. I found it rather nice because I could sometimes see the Kindergarteners playing at the school's playground. Since the window was always left slightly opened, I occasionally feel a cool breeze through the opening. It was a good feeling.

I looked up at the clock above the chalkboard and it was 7:27 a.m. Class was supposed to be in session 7 minutes ago, so I was surprised when Miss. Grace was late; she had never been late before. Just when I began to think of a reason for her tardiness, the door flung opened and Miss. Grace walked in followed by a boy. The boy's conspicuous silver hair made me raised my eyebrows.

"Miss. Grace, you're late," Anna, a girl from the other side of the room called out loud.

"I apologize for my tardiness class. I had to take care of a small matter," Miss. Grace said and turned to the silver haired boy standing next to her. "We have a new student who will be joining us from today on. Please introduce yourself."

The boy grinned and leaped forward. "What's up? My name is Gilbert Weillschmidt and I'm totally awesome, don't forget it!" he announced, thumb-pointed himself.

I heard murmurs amongst the students and a few soft snickers. I couldn't stop staring at the new student named Gilbert. Who would introduce themselves like that? Was he trying picking a fight on his first day of school? This guy was definitely a weirdo.

"Settle down class. Gilbert, you will sit in front of Elizaveta. Elizaveta, please raise your hand so Gilbert can find his seat." Miss. Grace said nervously and went back to her desk. I could tell that she was just surprised as I was.

"Yes," I said and raised my hand. I had to obey Miss. Grace's request even when I didn't want to, and I really didn't want to. Why must Gilbert sit in front of _me_? Gilbert began making his way to my direction. I didn't want him to sit near me because I thought he was a strange fellow. His hair was silver for god's sake! And who would enter school in the middle of March? The school year was almost over. Darn that empty seat in front of me!

Gilbert reached the desk in front of mine's and dropped his blue backpack next to his chair. When he looked at me, I gasped. His eyes were violet-red! Gilbert seemed to notice my shocked face and simply grinned at me.

"You can put your hand down now," he laughed and sat down in his chair.

I blinked when he said that and I felt my face turned red as I realized that my hand was still raised. I quickly pulled my hand down.

"Weirdo," he whispered.

He was the real weirdo!

* * *

><p>It had been two weeks since Gilbert came to my school. I noticed that recess had been different ever since that silver haired kid showed up. He'd been acting like an intruder for the last couple of weeks. Last Wednesday, he approached Matthew, a soft-spoken classmate of mine, who was playing in the sandbox and claimed the sandbox as his turf. When Matthew refused, Gilbert took Matthew's polar bear plush then threatened to drop it in the mud unless Matthew leaves; Gilbert got what he'd wanted in the end. Yesterday, he even got the grass field near the playground all to himself by interrupting a group of 5th grader's soccer game. They told him to get lost but he just kept jumping into their match. They then tried to chase him down but he was too fast for them and his nuisance eventually got what he wanted. I thought he was crazy; he was dealing with kids a grade older than him. Another thing I noticed was that he was always by himself during recess. When he wasn't disrupting kids during recess, he would sit under the big oak tree with his backpack and scribble away in his blue leather notebook.<p>

One day, the bell rang for recess and I joined a group of girls on the monkey bar shaped as an upside down bowl. I was wearing a frilly blouse and a matching skirt with pink rose pattern on it. I really didn't want to wear it to school because I found it difficult to run around in it without worrying about showing my underwear. I also couldn't do a lot of things I wanted to do such as playing in the sandbox or the slide because it might dirty my dress. The only reason why I wore it was because my mother personally picked it out for me and it would hurt her if I didn't wear the outfit. Whenever my mother had her day off from work, she would take me out for shopping at girl stores like Miss. Petite and Dolly's Clothing. I really didn't like the girly outfits they had there; I would choose plain T-shirts and jeans over frilly dresses and skirts any day.

"Let's play Marco Polo," Anna said as she climbed up the bar.

"Isn't that played in the pool?" Libby giggled.

"It is but we can play it on the monkey bars too," Anna replied then peered down at me and the three other girls. "Not it!" she called.

"Not it!" I cried and climbed my way next to Anna.

"Not it!" Ashley and Rosemary shouted at the same time. Libby blinked and her face flushed.

"Not fair! I wasn't ready!" she cried.

"Quit whining and let's play," Anna said.

"Fine, I'll count to 10. Get ready!" Libby stood under the monkey bar and covered her eyes with her hands. "1… 2… 3…"

Rosemary giggled and Ashley shushed her. I climbed my way to the highest part of the monkey bar.

"8… 9… 10, here I come!" Libby called with her eyes closed and began to grope the air. "Marco!"

"Polo!" the four of us shouted and Libby turned to Ashley's direction. Ashley held her breath and moved away as Libby came near her.

"Marco!" Libby called again.

"Polo!" we shouted and Libby suddenly jumped up with her hands in the air. Anna and Rosemary squealed in surprise and I quickly pulled my dangling legs away before Libby could swipe at them.

"Hey, get off my turf," a familiar voice said.

Libby opened her eyes and the five of us turned to the person who interrupted our game. It was Gilbert holding his slingshot and a sack of small marbles.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" Anna raised her eyebrows at Gilbert.

"I said this is my turf, so get off of it," Gilbert repeated himself.

"This isn't your turf!" Libby jumped in. "We were here first."

I saw Rosemary and Ashley huddling next to each other and nodding their heads in agreement. I was still sitting on the highest peak of the monkey bar. I could tell that they were scared.

"I don't care, this is my turf and I don't want annoying girls near it."

I glared at Gilbert. He noticed me glaring at him and stuck up his nose. This guy was a bully!

"And what if we don't leave? What are you going to do about it?" Anna said.

Gilbert laughed in response and took out a blue marble from his sack then placed it on the slingshot's leather pouch. He pointed his slingshot at Anna and Anna's eyes widened.

"Hey, stop it!" I shouted at Gilbert with anger.

"Then, get lost!" he said.

"Come on Elizaveta, let's go. He's troublesome." Rosemary whispered to me.

I turned to Rosemary and saw my friends retreating from the monkey bar. I gritted my teeth and began to climb down from the bars as well. Suddenly I heard a whistle beneath me. I looked down to see Gilbert with his right hand above his forehead peering up my dress.

"I see panties," he sang.

My face was as red as a tomato and I felt anger build within me. Before I knew it, I jumped down from the monkey bar and landed on top of Gilbert. I heard him gasped as my body weight took the breath out of him. His slingshot was knocked out of his hand and the colorful marbles scattered around us. I heard the group of girls gasped and saw them covered their mouth with their hands. I quickly pinned down Gilbert's wrist to the ground as he tried to push me off. I was taller than him by a few inches and stronger than he was. I hovered above him and glared.

"Hey, get off of me!" he shouted.

"Apologize!" I shouted back.

"Hmph," he sounded and turned his head away from me. That made me very furious. I gripped his wrist tighter. He glared up at me. "Ouch, cut it out!"

"I won't until I hear an apology." Gilbert bit his cheek and looked away from me. He opened his mouth to say something but the bell rang.

"Looks like it's time for class," he smiled smugly at me.

"Come on Elizaveta, just let it go," Anna said and began heading back for class.

"Tsk,"I sounded out loud in annoyance. I began to get up but with a second thought, I turned back to Gilbert and gave him a flick on the forehead with my finger. He cried out loud and rubbed his forehead as I got off of him. "Now we're even."

I found Rosemary, Ashley, and Libby waiting for me. They looked at me admiringly as we walked back to the classroom.

"What?" I looked at them and wondered why they were looking at me in such a way.

"I can't believe you did that… I mean you beat up Gilbert," Rosemary said.

"I didn't beat him up, I just pinned him down."

"Still, it looks like you won."

"I didn't win anything. He still didn't apologize, that jerk."

"You were so cool," Libby said and the girls nodded their head in agreement. I blushed as they complimented me.

We went back to our classroom and received a warm welcome back from Miss. Grace. I reached my desk just when Gilbert entered the room. For a moment there, I thought he was going to tell Miss. Grace about what I did to him during recess. I felt a little scared but Gilbert just walked past her and went back to his seat. I felt him looking at me and I quickly put my head down on my desk. I didn't know why I did that though.

Miss. Grace told us to turn to page 115 in our literature textbook. Just as I was taking out my textbook from my desk, I heard the words 'I'm sorry.' I looked up to see Gilbert looking at me from behind his desk.

"Huh?" I said. Gilbert's face flushed.

"What are you _deaf_?" he said and repeated himself. "I said I'm sorry."

I was surprised when he made his apology. He was a decent person after all.

"Apology accepted," I smiled at him, "I'm sorry too, about your hand."

"Eh, it was nothing. It didn't hurt at all," he quickly turned around again.

Sure, I thought and smiled to just myself.

* * *

><p>I was really upset when I was walking back home from school. Just as class ended for the day, I realized that my skirt had been slightly tarnished by dirt when I fell on top of Gilbert. If my mother found out about the smudge on my new skirt, she would definitely lecture me and my unladylike behaviors. I groaned out loud. I really didn't want to sit down for her lectures!<p>

"I can't let her see my skirt," I mumbled and took out my house key when I reached my house. I planned it all out; I would sneak into the house without my mother noticing me and toss the skirt into the laundry basket then change into something else before she notices. I thought it was a good plan.

I unlocked the door slowly and creped in as quiet as possible. I closed the door behind me and headed for the bathroom upstairs while holding my breath.

"Elizaveta, is that you?" my mother peered at me from the living room. She sitting on the couch and reading a girl's clothing magazine. I made a face at the magazine then smiled nervously at my mother.

"Yes it's me, mother," I greeted her and covered my skirt with my backpack.

"How was your day honey?"

"It was lovely," I lied. I didn't dare to tell her about my rumble with Gilbert.

"Is that so? That's good to hear," my mother putted away the magazine and looked at me. I realized that she was looking at my skirt.

"Did you have a nice day too mother? What did _you_ do?" I tried to make her forget about my skirt.

"I did, since I had the day off. I went shopping at Miss. Petite. Oh, I almost forgot! I bought you a cute sweater that matches that skirt you wore to school today."

"You did?" I gulped. She was talking about the skirt again!

"Yeah, come here and try it on," my mother took out a white sweater garnish with tiny pearls and a yarn knitted pink rose near the chest area. "Eliza, quit standing there and get over here."

I groaned not only because I didn't want her to see my dirty skirt but I didn't want to try on the sweater. I had told my mother many times that I would like to be the one to choose my own clothing but unfortunately, she hardly approved my clothing preferences and kept buying me girly outfits. I walked over to her while covering my skirt with my backpack.

"Eliza, what are you still holding onto that backpack for?" my mother gave me a strange look. "Leave it over there."

I sighed and dropped my backpack to the floor revealing my skirt. At first my mother looked confused but her eyes widen as she noticed the spots on my skirt.

"What happened? Why did it get dirty?" she gasped and tried to rub off the mess from the skirt. Her efforts were useless though. "This was brand new. I just bought it yesterday!"

I stood there looking up at the ceiling, and waited for her lecture.

"What did you do? Did you play with the boys again? You played soccer and fell, didn't you? How many times do I have to tell you about being careful and not getting too wild?" she looked at me with distress.

"Mom, I didn't play soccer. I played on the monkey bars with Anna and the girls today," I explained.

"The monkey bars? Those things will give you calluses. Let me see your hand," she grabbed my hand.

"Mom, stop it," I sighed again. My mother was way too overprotective of me.

"You fell off didn't you?"

"Well… not exactly. I jumped down on to-"

"You jumped down from the monkey bars? That's dangerous!" my mother cried as her eyes widened.

"Mom, liste-"

"Elizaveta, why can't you act more ladylike, what am I going to do with you?" my mother shook her head. "It was a new skirt too."

I picked up my backpack and gripped the strap tightly. I was angry at my mother. She never listened to what I had to say. There was no use in talking to her; I knew that from experience.

"I'm going back to my room," I muttered and left the room.

I tossed my backpack underneath my desk and flopped onto my bed. I buried my face into my pillow and then screamed into it. I was still wearing the rose patterned skirt and the thought of it made me boil with rage so I took the skirt off and tossed it onto my chair. I opened my closet and grabbed a pair of shorts then put them on. I felt slightly better but not really. The accident with Gilbert during recess and the argument with my mother had made me really tired. I went back to my bed and snuggled into my soft pillow then I fell asleep.

_Knock Knock_

"Huh?" I mumbled sleepily and sat up in my bed. Someone was knocking on my door.

"Knock, knock," a voice called from behind the door. I smiled because I knew who it was.

"Hold on, I'm coming," I shouted and got up from my bed. I scratched my head and made my way to the door.

"Guess who?" my dad smiled at me as I opened the door. I grinned.

"Dad, quit being silly and come on in," I laughed.

"Aw, you're no fun kiddo," he walked pass me and ruffled my hair.

"You're home early."

"Early? It's six o'clock already."

"Six o'clock? Seriously, how long have I been sleeping?" I gasped and grab my alarm clock. My dad was right. It was six o'clock. I had been asleep for about 3 hours. I sighed and flopped down on my bed again. "Whatever."

"Lizzy, did you have an argument with mommy again?" my dad asked and took a seat on my chair then picked up the skirt hanging on it. I knew this was why he came into my room. I looked down and didn't say anything.

"Elizaveta?" his voice got more serious. "You're mother is upset. Tell me what happened."

"I don't want to," I mumbled.

"Is it about this?" he asked and held up the rose pattern skirt for me to see.

"Okay, yeah it's about the skirt. Mom got all frantic about what happened to it." I said. "She didn't even listen to what I had to say."

"What happened?" he asked. I looked at my dad in the eyes. I could tell that he's willing to listen to my side of the story.

"I was playing Marco Polo with a group of girls on the monkey bar-"

"Isn't Marco Polo played in the pool?"

"Apparently you can play it on monkey bars as well," I answered and my dad chuckled. "We were having a blast… until _that_ guy came along."

"That guy?" my dad questioned as he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, he's the new guy who transferred into our class. Dad, you should have seen him! He had silver hair and violet-red eyes."

"Sounds like an interesting boy," he laughed. "Silver hair and violet-red eyes? I had never heard of that before."

"Dad, stop laughing. He's not interesting, he's really mean."

"Oh, what did he do?"

"I think he's a bully. He scared Matthew out of the sandbox and drove away the 5th graders. Like today, when we were playing on the monkey bars, he came up to us and threatened us with a slingshot and marbles."

"He did? Well, what did you do?" my dad said. He was really interested in my story now. I sat up and smiled proudly.

"I pinned him down and knocked the slingshot out of his hand."

"Elizaveta!" my dad cried out in shock when he heard what I did.

"Calm down dad, I didn't punch him or injure him. I just didn't want him to hurt the girls," I said looking sideways and whispered, "plus, he kind of insulted me."

"What did he do?" my dad asked. I felt my face flushed with embarrassment as I recalled what Gilbert said under the monkey bar.

"Nothing, and that's the end on my story!"

"So you got your skirt dirty because of that?" he looked at me and I nodded my head. "So that's what happened. Lizzy, I think you need to talk with your mom again."

"No, I've talked to her already. She's not going to listen."

"Now, you don't know that," my dad said and then placed his hand on my head. "Please, Lizzy? I want you to make up with mommy."

I looked at my dad. He was pouting and giving me his puppy dog face. For a middle aged man, my dad didn't act like one. He acted more like a child, and that was probably why I found him much easier to talk to than my mother.

"Alright, alright," I laughed and got up from my bed. "Must I be the adult here?"

"Yes," he answered and we laughed all the way downstairs.

* * *

><p>I was one week away from summer vacation and I couldn't wait for the school year to be over. Looking forward to spending some time with my parents and maybe exploring the neighborhood, I smiled at the thought of being able to get all the sleep I want and the best part about it is that there will be no homework. I was sitting in the sandbox and I artistically constructed a sand house along with two sand figures and a dog. I furrowed my eyebrows as I studied the dog I made. It didn't look like a dog at all! When I began to fix it, something red flashed before my eyes and demolished my sand house. I shield my eyes as sand showered everywhere. When I opened my eyes, my hair, shirt, and shoes had sand in them. I looked up to see Gilbert running towards me.<p>

"You look like a mess," he laughed. I glared at him then grabbed the red ball and got ready to throw it at him. "Whoa, calm down."

I continued glaring at him.

"Hey, give me the ball. We're going to play dodge ball," he said. I didn't intend to give him the ball until he apologized to me. We heard someone shouting in our direction.

"Gilbert, what are you doing? Hurry up with the ball!" a boy called out to him from the basketball court.

"You heard him" Gilbert said and held out his hands for the ball. I was still upset but I didn't want to delay their game so I tossed him the ball.

"Thanks," Gilbert said and began to walk back to the game but then stopped. "Hey, do you want to play too?"

"Huh?" I stared at him.

"You should play dodge ball with us," he said. I thought for a moment. I hadn't played dodge ball for a while and I missed it too but what if I got messy or hurt from playing? Mother would get upset again and I would get into trouble. I was going to decline his offer but he responded:

"Are you a chicken?"

"What?" I said in surprise.

"I knew it! You are a chicken!"

"No I'm not!"

"Chicken! Chicken!" he taunted, dropped the ball, and then made flapping motions with his arms. I picked up the ball and threw it at him. He dodged it and began clucking.

"Quit calling me that, I'm not a chicken!" I yelled and felt my face grew hot.

"Oh, then you'll play?" he finally stopped and crossed his arms. I didn't care about whether I'll get in trouble with my mother anymore; I just wanted the boy to shut up, so I walked up to him and stuck up my nose. I was taller than him by 2 inches and I smirked down at him.

"I'll play, you better watch out," I warned him and I could tell that my height's superiority made him angry.

"Y-you watch out!" he straightened his back to make himself taller. This made me burst out laughing and he got angrier. I picked up the ball and headed for the court.

"Hurry up, shorty," I called behind me. I heard him grumbled behind me.

"You're playing too, Elizaveta?" my classmate, a blonde hair boy with thick eyebrows named Arthur asked me as I reached the basketball court. I nodded my head.

"Hey toss me the ball, Elizaveta!" another classmate of mine named Alfred called out to me. I tossed him the ball and he caught it. "Thanks! You're in my team!"

"No, if she joins your team, then the number of people in each team would be uneven." Arthur protested.

"She can join _my_ team," a boy named Francis proposed then smiled and laid his arm around my shoulders.

"You idiot, you don't have a team! There is only Alfred's team and my team," Arthur said.

"But I don't want to be in team Eyebrows," Francis whined.

"That's not my team name!" Arthur shouted and looked like he wanted to strangle Francis.

"Okay, so which team is Elizaveta in?" Antonio, my other classmate joined in on the discussion.

"She's in my team!" Alfred waved his arms around.

"Hold on a minute. There were 20 people… and with Elizaveta there are 21 people," Arthur said.

"You forgot about me," Gilbert said behind me.

"Gilbert you're here! Okay, so we have 22 people."

"I'll be in Alfred's team," Gilbert said and walked over to Alfred.

"Yay! We're on the same team" Francis cheered and tried to hug me but I pushed him away.

"Okay, in order to win the bet-, " Arthur began but I interrupted him.

"Bet? What bet?" I asked.

"The thing is that there is a bet between Alfred and Arthur. It's a match between team Hero and team Eyebrows," Antonio explained.

"So it's really called Eyebrows," I mumbled and looked dumbfounded as Arthur turned away.

"The losing team's leader would have to buy lunch for the winning team's leader," Francis said.

"I'm not losing to Alfred! You'll help right Elizaveta?" Arthur asked and looked at me.

"I'll do my best," I replied and looked over to Gilbert. I decided to take him down first.

"There are no resurrections in this game and the team with the last standing player is the winner. Alright then, let's go team Eyebrows!" Antonio cheered and everyone groaned at the name then turned to face team Hero.

The game began with Matthew as the referee and he stood at the sideline, dividing the basketball court in half. He had the red ball in his hands and a whistle in his mouth. Both teams glared at each and carefully eyed the red ball. Matthew smiled at both team and then tossed the ball high up into the air. Everyone watched the ball return to the ground and bounce to team Hero's side. Team Eyebrows backed up as team Hero charged for the ball.

Team Hero's Ivan got a hold of the ball first and sent it flying at our team. Jimmy got hit first and Matthew blew his whistle then signaled Jimmy to move to the area behind team Hero's side of the court. Team Hero was cheering for its first hit. Antonio then grabbed the ball and threw the ball at them as they were celebrating. Catherine was struck down and the whistle was blown so Catherine went behind our side of the court. My team began to cheer but the red ball flew straight at me. I caught it.

"You caught it!" my teammate Yao cheered.

"Throw it Elizaveta!" Arthur shouted at me.

I searched for Gilbert but he was hidden in the crowd, so I aimed the ball at team Hero's Kiku. Alfred jumped in front of Kiku and caught the ball and then threw it back at me. Luckily, I ducked my head and the ball missed me. The ball bounced outside the court and Catherine caught it then hit Anna with it.

After 15 minutes into the game, Team Hero had 3 people standing: Ivan, Belle, and Gilbert. Our team had 4 people standing: Antonio, Francis, Yao, and me. Everyone was sweating and breathing hard. I could tell that both teams were determined to win. Belle, the girl with the short and wavy blonde hair, was holding the ball and preparing to aim it at Antonio.

"Antonio, look out!" I cried but was too late; Antonio got hit with the ball and walked out of the court. The two teams were now even.

Yao sent the ball flying at Ivan but Ivan dodged it. The ball bounced out of the court and Jimmy picked it up. He threw it at Belle but missed. The ball went to our side and Yao threw it at Belle but missed again. The ball bounced outside the court and Antonio picked it up.

"This is for revenge Belle!" he shouted and knocked Belle down with the ball.

"Antonio, you jerk!" she cried as Antonio hive-fived Arthur.

"This is getting tough," Gilbert said to Ivan and then smiled, "but we're going to win."

Gilbert scoped up the ball and threw it at Francis, who caught the ball and threw it back. The ball went back and forth between the two for a while but eventually Francis got hit with it. I picked up the ball and threw it at Gilbert but he caught it.

"That was a weak throw," he smirked.

I turned to run away but I felt a blow behind my back that knocked me to the hard ground. I was hit.

"You're out," Gilbert called.

I went over to my team members who were out and I felt sad because I left Yao fighting the other team on his own and was angry that Gilbert got me out of the court. I didn't get at chance to hit him yet and was very upset, but I suddenly felt hopeful and confident. I still had a chance to get my revenge on Gilbert and win the game. I looked around and saw Antonio with the ball.

"Antonio, give me that!" I called and ran to him.

"Huh?" he sounded in confusion as I stole the ball out of his hand then sent it flying at Gilbert. Gilbert barely saw the ball coming his way and it almost got him but he dodged it just in time.

"Darn!" I growled and gritted my teeth. Gilbert made a face at me and that intensified my anger.

For the rest of the game, I took the ball away from my team mates and tried to get rid Gilbert. In the process, I got Ivan out of the game and left both teams with one member standing. I was determined to hit Gilbert with the ball. He was glaring at me now and I could tell that he was annoyed because I kept aiming at him.

"Hey, you're cheating. Give someone else a try," he said and wiped the sweat away from his forehead.

"She's not cheating and there's no rule for that," Francis said smiling. I looked at the rest of the team and they were beaming with hope and confidence. They probably thought that I had a chance to take down Gilbert.

"Go for it Eliza," Antonio whispered to me. I gripped onto the ball tightly and focused on Gilbert. He took a few steps backward and watched me. I stepped back at little and threw the ball at him with all my strength. I thought that he was going to get hit this time for sure but he caught the ball. My mouth dropped open in shock as well as everyone else's.

"Impossible," I breathed.

Gilbert quickly turned around and charged at Yao. Yao tried to escape but Gilbert threw the ball and it sent him falling to the ground. The members of team Hero cheered and danced around happily because they were the victors. I went over to Arthur and I felt guilty for not winning.

"Arthur, I'm sorry," I said and looked down at the floor.

"Why are you apologizing, Elizaveta?" he said looking surprised.

"If I knocked down Gilbert back then, then we could have won."

"Don't say that, you were great. Wasn't she great, guys?" Arthur called out to the members of team Eyebrows.

"You were magnificent," Francis elbowed me.

"You were like, totally cool. Am I right Toris?" Feliks, the boy with blonde hair all the way down to his neck, tugged his friend Toris's arm.

"You were really cool, Elizaveta," Toris said.

"You understand now? You did great. Everyone did great and I want to thank all of you guys for doing your best in the game." Arthur said and smiled at everyone one.

"Hey Arthur," Alfred walked over to Arthur and then held out his hand, "Good game."

"Good game," Arthur said and the two shook hands. He made a goofy smile. "Now, what do you want for lunch tomorrow?"

I sat down on a bench for a rest and watched the members of team Eyebrows congratulate the members of team Hero. I smiled because it was a nice sight to see and everyone had fun. I was in such a good mood that when Gilbert sat down next to me, I cheerfully greeted him.

"Hey!" I beamed at him. He was holding a small towel and a water bottle.

"Sup?" he said and gave me a weird look then sat down next to me. I ignored his reaction and continued smiling.

"Nice game," I said.

"You lost and I won the match," he said smugly.

"I know but I had fun," I said and his face was filled with shock and bewilderment. "Oh come on, don't give me that look. Admit it, you had fun too."

Gilbert was silent for a moment then he nodded.

"Yeah, it was fun," he said quietly.

"You're pretty good at dodge ball," I said then added, "I admit it, and you were pretty cool."

Just when I said that, Gilbert's face and ears turned really pink. He quickly stood up and his towel fell off his lap.

"We-well of course I was cool! That fact was so obvious, I can't believe you hadn't noticed that until now!" he exclaimed and turned around. I could still see his pink ears.

"Hey, you're ea-," I began and pointed to his ears but then stopped because he was staring right at me.

"Y-you were pre-," he stuttered a bit then turned away again. "Oh, never mind!"

I shrugged my shoulders and reached into my pants pocket for a rubber band to tie my hair up but I noticed that my white shirt was covered with brown and gray dirt.

"Oh no, my shirt!" I cried and tugged on my shirt.

"What happened?" Gilbert asked as he drank out of his water bottle.

"My shirt is all dirty,"

"You're such a girl, it's just a little dirt," he snickered.

"You don't understand, my mom's going to yell at me again."

"Seriously? You're mom's a neat freak."

I laughed and nodded my head in agreement. However, even with that, I was sad because I didn't want to have another argument with my mom again. The thought of arguing with my mother made me want to cry. I tried to hold back my sniffles but Gilbert noticed and tossed aside his towel. He pulled out a blue handkerchief then soaked it with the water from his water bottle.

"What are you doing?" I asked. Gilbert didn't answer me and put down his water bottle. He sat down next to me and began rubbing the handkerchief at the dirty spots on my shirt.

"I think this will do the job," he said and meticulously rubbed off the dirt from my clothing. I watched him and he was right, the dirt did come out. "There, all done. Your shirt is wet though."

"Thanks Gilbert!" I exclaimed and smiled down at my shirt then at him. This time, I truly believed that he was a good person. "You're awesome!"

"You're not too shabby yourself and like I said before, I am awesome and don't you forget it!" he flashed me a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>

Thank you for reading the first chapter of my first fan fiction story. I hope the first chapter was an enjoyable read and that you would stick around for the next one to come. I have the whole story in my head and I hope to complete writing the whole story out until the very end. I also want to give a big thank to my sister for editing and making my story readable. Please leave comments and helpful reviews for me and have a nice day! ^_^

Hetalia characters in this chapter:

Elizaveta-Hungary

Gilbert-Prussia

Matthew-Canada

Arthur-England

Alfred-America

Francis-France

Antonio-Spain

Ivan-Russia

Yao-China

Kiku-Japan

Belle-Belgium

Feliks-Poland

Toris-Lithuania

*Elizavetta's age is 9 and Gilbert's age is 9 and 1/2.


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